The oil and gas exploration in the Arctic region has become increasingly active during past decades. However, the Arctic environment also poses special challenges to the design, fabrication and operation of drilling platforms. Due to the low temperature and ice-infested water conditions, the traditional drilling platforms are operated within a limited window period (about two-months) during the summer season, which leads to a relatively long project period and a higher cost.
Facing the challenges of ice-flows and harsh environment, it is necessary to develop a floating platform with ice resistance capability and outstanding motion performance for operation in ice-infested waters and harsh environment.